Technology is your friend, in most cases. In others it makes it more difficult to accomplish what you're trying to do. Take my job search for example. I was sending out my simple resume cover letter to potential employers and in most cases I was just getting a reply to confirm it was received or a reply stating the position had been filled. Not exactly what I was looking for. I found a way to get my resume cover letter read by doing a few things before and after I sent it in. Let me explain a little what I did.

First, to make my simple resume cover letter stand out I learned about the company to see what I could put in that would be different. I tried to find out who I would be interviewed by. I found that it was usually that person that I would be working with. So I did the usual "Thank you for considering me for the position of production dept assistant" or what ever but I added to it by saying "I really look forward to working with Mr. Smith. I know he's the head of the production department and it would be great to work alongside of him. Now if Mr. Smith would just look like the Mr. Smith of the movie it would be awesome.

Second, being that many companies now want you to email the resume and cover letter I would do that but also deliver a copy of my simple resume cover letter, in person. Emailing it is great but getting to shake the person's hand is better. Helping us both to put a face to the letter I found helped me a lot.

Lastly, I would send out a thank you for your time and consideration the same day I was there. If I got to meet the person I thanked them for their time. If I didn't I would still send a letter stating I was there to deliver a copy in person and missed them for what ever reason they weren't available.

I found that taking these steps along with a professional simple resume cover letter helped me get interviews more often and turn the convenient but disadvantageous email into a strength. Not many take the time to go in person and thank you letters are just about an extinct idea. I always wrote a custom letter to each job, when I had trouble writing the letters I used a cover letter generator that I would simply put in the information I wanted. This helped ease the task of having to write eight or nine letters at a time.

1. Before I send it out, find out as much as possible before I sent it.
2. Take a copy in person to the individual
3. Send a thank you for your time letter the same day.